Almost

NU Magazine - October, 2009

The wind howls and whistles as she moves,
No stopping is permitted,
All the noise,
Yelling and screaming,
She gasps for air,
Her throat burns of thirst,
She cannot feel her legs,
She is numb and shivers from cold,
Her pace is fast as she passes the boisterous crowd,
Her lips are chapped and need balm as wood is rough and needs sandpaper,
Her heart beat fastens as her pulse races,
Her lungs are constant,
As she reaches closer and closer to the yellow ribbon,
Her steps produce loud bangs on the pavement,
Looking only ahead,
Where no one else is blocking her view of victory,
Even though she feels she cannot go on another step,
She commands her body to maintain endurance,
As her stamina begins to weaken,
She feels the presence of another body gaining momentum,
She feels herself losing it,
The crowd gets louder,
Her legs get heavier,
Her calves feel sore,
Her lungs cannot expand anymore,
As she crashes to the ground,
The only thing she sees is another,
Breaking through the ribbon,
Holding the gold trophy with pride,
As pictures snap and TV crews gather round,
She lies there in a pile of dust and gravel,
Breathing heavily,
With blood on her knees,
And scrapes on her hands and chin,
Praying she had only kept running for another minute.

Aliza Shapiro, attends Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School.

NU Online © 2009 New Jersey Jewish News